When you think of Spain what do you think of? Brits holidaying on the Costa del Sol, possibly? Barcelona and Real Madrid, perhaps? Basque separatists, maybe? Sunshine, definitely! So, it came as a bit of a shock this morning on arrival at the port of Gexto to see low grey cloud and drizzle.
Frank Gehry and the Building Merry*
The only thing I knew about Bilbao before coming was that there was an offshoot of the Guggenheim museum here with a whacky building designed by architect Frank Gehry.
Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we didn’t have time to go into the museum itself which was a great shame. However, the idea of these cruises, for us at any rate, is to serve as a taster and if we like it we can come back. So we had to make do with walking around the outside of the building which, I have to say, is stunning.
There is a walkway that runs along the back of the building separated by a small moat. Into this just out at jaunty angles the titanium cladding shining despite the drizzle. At the end of this is a giant spider which, my daughter-in-law assures me, was only marginally larger than the one she saw in her house this week!
Up a large marble paved set of steps is the front of the building which is pretty dull by comparison with the back. Maybe this is why there is an enormous Jeff Koons installation, “Puppy”, outside. Made up of a frame holding soil and thousands of plants. It is ever changing as the plants flower and die back.
Bilbao
From the Guggenheim we got a taxi to the Old Town. After the obligatory stop for a coffee (freshly squeezed orange juice in my case) we wandered around the highlights eventually ending up at Mercado de la Ribera (covered market).
European markets are so much more interesting and useful than those in the UK. Instead of stalls selling tat they have butchers, fishmongers, fruit and veg all looking fresh. This one had that plus some lovely stained glass windows. From there we took a short circular walk between the two bridges that span the Nervión River next to the market and looked back along the row of colourful buildings on the opposite bank.
That was pretty much all we had time for before we had to return to the boat. To be honest I really don’t feel like I have done Bilbao at all and probably needs a return visit to do at a more leisurely pace.
*my poor attempt at a skit on Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy